Rya Taza

{{for|the newspaper|Ria Taza (newspaper)}}

{{Infobox settlement

| official_name = Rya Taza

| native_name = Ռյա Թազա

| image_skyline = Aragat - Armenia (2928545045).jpg

| image_caption = View from the village

| pushpin_map = Armenia#Aragatsotn

| mapsize = 150px

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = Armenia

| subdivision_type1 = Province

| subdivision_name1 = Aragatsotn

| subdivision_type2 = Municipality

| subdivision_name2 = Alagyaz

| population_as_of = 2011

| population_total = 531{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/armenia/aragatsotn/|title=Aragatsotn (Armenia): Towns and Villages in Municipalities|website=www.citypopulation.de|access-date=2024-11-11}}

| utc_offset = +4

| utc_offset_DST = +5

| coordinates = {{coord|40|39|28|N|44|18|00|E|region:AM|display=inline,title}}

}}

Rya Taza ({{langx|hy|Ռյա Թազա}}) or Ria Taza ({{langx|ku-Latn|Ria Taza||New way}}) is a village in the Alagyaz Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It was formerly known as Kondakhsaz or known by locals as Qundesaz. Most residents of Rya Taza are Sîpkî Yezidis who migrated to the Aparan region from Kars in the 19th century.{{cite web |title=(PDF) On the Structure of the Yezidi Clan and Tribal System and its Terminology among the Yezidis of the Caucasus {{!}} Khanna Omarkhali - Academia.edu |url=https://www.academia.edu/7918324/On_the_Structure_of_the_Yezidi_Clan_and_Tribal_System_and_its_Terminology_among_the_Yezidis_of_the_Caucasus |page=115}}

The village is home to a ruined Armenian church built between the 10th and 13th centuries. It also contains an old cemetery with animal-shaped tombstones. In December 2020, a Yezidi cleric from the Lalish holy site located in Iraq blessed a newly built temple named after Shekhubekir (Şêxûbekir) which is open to the public.

File:Rya Thaza, S. Sargis church - panoramio.jpg|Ruined St. Sarkis church

File:Aragat - Armenia (2928510557).jpg|Cemetery featuring animal-shaped monuments

File:Entrance of the Yazidi Temple in Rya Taza.jpg|The entrance to the Yezidi temple

File:The Yazidi Temple in Rya Taza.jpg|The Yezidi temple